Computerized system and method for generating universal line usage reports

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a universal line usage information reporting system. The system includes a relational database component for storing line usage information from a telecommunications network organized such that the information may be used to generate line usage reports and a report information component for receiving report criteria and type of report to be generated. The system further includes a report generator component for generating a line usage report based on the report criteria and type of report received by the report information component using line usage information obtained from the relational database component.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to the field of computersoftware. More particularly, the invention relates to a computerizedtool and method for universal line management.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Telecommunication networks start at the local level with a telephone orcommunication line that runs from a home or business. An exemplarytelephone telecommunications system is shown in FIG. 1. Telephone linesare grouped to make a line unit 106. There are multiple line units 106for each switch module 104. The switch modules 104 make a switchingsystem 103 for a central office 102. A telephone call is transferredfrom the telecommunications line to a switch module 104 of centraloffice 102 and is directed to the proper destination. There may bemultiple central offices 102 in one region of a telecommunicationsnetwork. Furthermore, there may be multiple regions in a nationaltelecommunications network.

Due to increased telephone and Internet dial-up usage, the number ofcalls on certain equipment has greatly increased lines to becomeoverloaded and this results in failed call attempts. As a result,certain line units may be plagued with chronic call failure and poorservice quality. However, it is difficult to determine which line unitsare overloaded and need additional equipment to handle the call volume.

One method of determining whether equipment limitations have beenexceeded is to manually search line units one at a time determine if theequipment in place is adequate for the call volume. This method is timeconsuming, expensive and requires a large amount of personnel.Furthermore, by the time the process is completed, traffic volumes mayhave changed and the information gathered is outdated.

Another method used to try to solve this problem is a “HOT SPOT” reportsold by Lucent Technologies, Inc. The “HOT SPOT” report is a print outand snapshot view of the performance of line units for a particularswitch module at the time the report is run. The drawback of the reportis that it does not include line usage information for more than onepoint in time. Rather, the report receives information regarding lineusage information only at one point and time, does not provide detailedinformation and does not give a picture of what the traffic volume islike at different times of day or even different seasons. The reportdoes not allow for the results to be updated at any reasonablefrequency. These reports provided limited line usage information and donot provide any line usage information about an overall region or on anational level for use by managers. Furthermore, these types of reportsare limited and options are not available. It is not possible for a userto specify the type of report they would like to view.

New equipment is added to a telecommunications network it is notreflected in these “HOT SPOT” reports because the structure or layout ofthe network is only updated on a yearly basis. Thus, the reports do notreflect newly added or removed equipment.

A system and method for continuously collecting and monitoring lineusage information and generating line usage reports based on the lineusage information would be advantageous. A system and method fordocumenting newly added or removed equipment in a telecommunicationsthat is updated on a regular basis would also be advantageous.Furthermore, allowing a user or other system to select a report type andreport criteria to generate a line usage report would also beadvantageous.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to the field of computersoftware.

In one embodiment of the present invention, universal line usageinformation reporting system is described. The system includes arelational database component for storing line usage informationorganized such that the information may be used to generate line usagereports and a report information component for receiving report criteriaand type of report to be generated. The system further includes a reportgenerator component for generating a line usage report based on thereport criteria and type of report received by the report informationcomponent using line usage information obtained from the relationaldatabase component.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method ofreporting universal telephone line usage information is described. Thesystem accesses stored line usage information, wherein the stored lineusage information is organized such that it may be used to generate lineusage reports. The system also receives report criteria and the type ofreport to be generated. The system generates a line usage report basedon the report criteria and type of report received and using the accessline usage information.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computerized systemfor generating one or more universal line usage reports is described.The computer system includes means for accessing stored line usageinformation, wherein the stored line usage information is organized suchthat it may be used to generate one or more line usage reports and meansfor receiving report criteria. The system further includes means forreceiving one or more type of reports to be generated and means forgenerating one or more line usage reports based on the report criteriaand type of report received and using the access line usage information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is described in detail below with reference to theattached drawing figures, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary telephone switching system;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a universal line usage informationcollection tool in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram of a universal line usage informationreporting tool in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram of a method for collecting and storing lineusage information in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram of generating reports of line usageinformation in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram of a method for displaying reports of lineusage information;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an exemplary universal line usageinformation details tool;

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for displaying line unitperformance details in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an exemplary line load balance maintenanceentry tool;

FIG. 8 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary user log-in screen;

FIG. 9 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary report type choicescreen;

FIG. 10 is a screen shot illustrating exemplary display of reportcriteria;

FIG. 11 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary line unit performancereport;

FIG. 12 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary line unit loadbalance report;

FIG. 13 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary line unit performancedetails report;

FIG. 14 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary line unit countblockage report;

FIG. 15 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary consecutive weekblockage report;

FIG. 16 is a screen shot illustrating an exemplary load balance remarktable for maintenance information; and

FIGS. 17-18 are screen shots illustrating exemplary load balance inquirydisplays.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a computerized tool and method foruniversal line management. In one embodiment of the present invention auniversal line usage information collection tool is described. Lineusage information is collected to monitor and manage the performance ofline units of switch modules. In another embodiment, a universal lineusage-reporting tool or system is described.

The present invention also relates to a system and method for displayingdetailed line usage information. In another embodiment of the presentinvention, a system and method for updating equipment in atelecommunications network is provided. Another embodiment of thepresent invention relates to a user interface. In still anotherembodiment, a system and method for updating the structure of atelecommunications system is described.

Various telecom technical terms are used throughout this disclosure. Adefinition of such terms may be found in: H. Newton, Newton's TelecomDictionary, 18^(th) Updated and Expanded Edition (2002). Thesedefinitions are intended to provide clearer understanding of the ideasdisclosed herein and are in no way intended to limit the scope of thepresent invention. The definitions and terms should be interpretedbroadly and liberally to the extent allowed by the art and the meaningof the words offered in the above-cited reference.

With reference to FIG. 1, an exemplary telecommunications network 100 isprovided. A telecommunications network is an assembly of equipmentarranged to establish connection between communication lines. Aswitching system 103 is provided for central office 102. As can be seenin FIG. 1 multiple switch modules 104 make up the switching system 103.Furthermore, there are multiple line units 106 for each switch module104. A telephone call is transferred via a telecommunications line to aswitch module 104 of central office 102 and is directed to the properdestination.

One of skill in the art will appreciate that that any type or number ofswitch modules or switches may be used for telecommunications network ofthe present invention. One of skill in the art will also appreciate thatthere are any variety of ways to set up a telecommunications network.Examples of switch modules that may be used include, but are not limitedto, 5-ESS switch modules by Lucent Technologies and Media Gateway 9000(MG9K) system by Nortel. The tool and method of the present invention iscapable of being used with any switch module, switch type, circuitswitches, interface components and equipment used in atelecommunications network.

System and Method for Collecting and Storing Universal Line UsageInformation

With reference to FIG. 2A, in the first embodiment of the presentinvention a universal line usage information collection tool 200 isshown. The universal line usage information collection tool includes adata collection component 202, a relational database component 208 and astructural database component 210. The data collection component 202receives line usage information from a telecommunications network. Theline usage information may include, but is not limited to, usageinformation regarding equipment in a switching system, such as lineunits and switch modules.

Types of line usage information include, the percent overflow, usageinformation, current utilization percentage, network element, trafficelement, hour the highest blockage occurred, the number of calls perpiece of equipment, overflow information, number of working lines,equipped lines, wired lines and any information regarding the time, useor amount one or more items of equipment in telecommunications networkare utilized. The data collection component 202 is capable of receivingline usage information for equipment in a national telecommunicationsnetwork or at a regional or local level.

The data collection component 202 accesses information from thehardware/equipment in a telecommunications network and converts it to areadable form to be recorded. On example of a data collection component202 is a centralized data collection (CDC). The CDC collects line usageinformation for equipment in a telecommunications network. The lineusage information collected by the CDC is text associated with CommonLanguage Location Identifiers (CLLI). CLLIs identify the location wherethe line usage information has originated.

The structural database component 210 contains information regarding thecurrent telecommunications structure. For example, the structuraldatabase component 210 tracks the number of lines per line unit, theline units per switch module and what phone numbers have been assignedto what customers. The structural database component 210 contains thelayout of equipment in a telecommunications network.

An example of the structural database component 210 is CODARS. CODARStracks and provides telephone numbers for assignment to customers.CODARS also tracks custom calling features and message line information.CODARS also contains information regarding the layout and assignment ofworking lines, line units, telephone numbers and information regardingwhat lines and line units are connected to switch modules.

The relational database component 208 accesses structural informationregarding the structure of equipment in the telecommunications network,such as the layout of switch modules and line units, from structuraldatabase component 210. The relational database component 208 reads theinformation collected by the data collection component 202 for lineusage information that corresponds to certain equipment in thetelecommunications network. For example, the structural databasecomponent 202 provides information to the relational database component208 of the layout of the telecommunications network of state, region,host CLLI, line group and equipped/wired/working lines for the linegroup.

The relational database component uses the appropriate CLLI codeinformation and corresponding line usage information from the datacollection component to fill in the line usage information for thecorresponding piece of equipment accessed from the structural databasecomponent. In other words, the relational database component 208organizes the line usage information according to the layout of theequipment accessed from the structural database component 210 and in aformat that the information may be used to generate line usage reports.An exemplary relational database 208 is shown in Table 1 below. Thetable shows the information collected by the database component 210organized based on the structural information from the structuraldatabase component 210.

TABLE 1 CDST 2 TEXT(‘STATE’) CDWRC 4 TEXT(‘WIRE CENTER’) CDOFFC 5TEXT(‘OFFICE’) CDLGRP 20 TEXT(‘LINE GROUP’) CDRCLI 11 TEXT(‘REMOTE CLLICODE’) CDRPDT 8 TEXT(‘REPORT DAILY DATE - YYYYMMDD’) CDROFN 20TEXT(‘REMOTE OFFICE NAME’) CDREGN 4 TEXT(‘REGION’) CDCOMP 2TEXT(‘COMPANY CODE’) CDHCLI 11 TEXT(‘HOST CLLI CODE’) CDTUED 8TEXT(‘TUESDAY DATE’) CDSM 2 TEXT(‘SWITCH MODULE’) CDLU 2 TEXT(‘LINEUNIT’) CDNWRK 10 TEXT(‘NETWORK ELEMENT TYPE’) CDOFTY 1 TEXT(‘OFFICETYPE’) CDHOUR 2 0 TEXT(‘HOUR - HIGHEST BLOCKAGE’) CDPCOF 11 8TEXT(‘PERCENT OVERFLOW’) CDUSGE 5 0 TEXT(‘USAGE’) CDPCCP 11 8TEXT(‘PERCENT CAPACITY’) CDPEG 3 0 TEXT(‘PEG’) CDOVFL 3 0TEXT(‘OVERFLOW’) CDTPEG 4 0 TEXT(‘TOTAL PEG’) CDHOLD 6 0 TEXT(‘HOLDIINGTIME’) CDEQPD 6 0 TEXT(‘EQUIPPED LINES’) CDWIRE 6 0 TEXT(‘WIRED LINES’)CDWKGQ 6 0 TEXT(‘WORKING LINES’)

An example of a relational database component 208 is iSeries DB2database. The iSeries DB2 database is part of the iSeries platform(AS400). The relational database component 208 is accessed by the reportgenerator component 207 described below in FIG. 2B to generate lineusage reports discussed below.

In one embodiment of the invention, the relational database componentautomatically accesses the structural database component 210 to get themost current layout of equipment in the telecommunications network andreads the corresponding line usage information from the data collectioncomponent 202 at regular intervals. For example, the relational databasecomponent 208 may be programmed to read the data collection component202 and the structural database component 210 on a weekly basis.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this embodiment of thepresent invention contemplates the presence of additional componentsand/or sub-components of the computer system, and the components and/orsubcomponents may be combined with one another and/or separated into newcomponents and sub-components. Those skilled in the art will alsoappreciate that the information stored in databases or tables asdescribed in this application may be stored in an individual database ortable or may be stored in multiple databases or tables.

Turning to FIG. 3A, a method for generating a relational database 300 isshown. At block 302 the system receives continuous line usageinformation from equipment in a telecommunications network. At block 304the system generates a text file containing the line usage informationreceived at block 302. In an alternative embodiment, the line usageinformation is received as a text file and block 304 is bypassed.

At block 306 the system accesses structural database tables containinginformation regarding the structure of the telecommunications network.At block 308 the system generates a relational database table by readingthe text file for line usage information and organizing the informationbased on the structural information obtained from the structuraldatabase. The relational database is in a formatted form such that lineusage reports may be easily generated.

System and Method for Generating Line Usage Reports

With reference to FIG. 2B a universal line usage-reporting tool 201 isshown. The reporting tool 201 is web-based and is accessible to multipleusers. The reporting tool 201 includes a report information component203, a relational database component 208, a report generator component207 and a report display component 209. The report information component203 contains the criteria and type of report information used togenerate the report component 207. In one embodiment, a user selects thecriteria and report type. In another embodiment, the report component207 is programmed to automatically generate a specific type report at aspecified time based on pre-specified criteria. The report criteriainclude the region, company, state, office/host, switch module, lineunit and time interval of usage information that a report is generatedfor.

The relational database component 208 contains stored line usageinformation organized based on the structure of the telecommunicationsnetwork and is stored in a format that is accessible by the reportgenerator component 207. The report generator component 207 extractsline usage information from the relational database component 208 basedon the report information of report information component 203.

The report display component 209 displays the report generated by thereport generator component 207. One of skill in the art will appreciatethat the report display component 209 may display the line usage reportsgenerated by the report generator component 207 in any variety of ways.

The types of reports generated by the report generator component 207include line unit performance reports, blockage reports and consecutivereports. An exemplary line unit performance report is shown in FIG. 11and breaks down lien usage information by switch modules and line unitsfor different central offices. The line unit performance report includesinformation such as the switch type, the region, the central office,switch module information, line unit information, and for each lineunit: the highest hourly percent block for the last eight weeks, busyhour percent capacity, equipped lines, wired lines, number of workinglines, the highest busy hour usage, the busiest usage values, and anyload balance activity that may have occurred or may be pending.

An exemplary line unit performance report 1100 is shown in FIG. 11. Theexemplary line unit performance report 1102 is for a switch type 1104,region 1106, company 1108, and office 1110. In this example, the lineunit performance report is for the 5ESS switch type, mid-Atlanticregion, 56 Company, and the Dunne County Office.

In the exemplary line unit performance report of FIG. 11, the line usageinformation is divided out and displayed according to the remote/pairgain, switch module 1120, and line unit 1122. The line unit performanceincludes information including the highest hourly percent block for thelast eight weeks 1112, for the current week 1114 and the highest busyhour usage 1116. Thus, for the remote/pair gain DUNNNCXA89A for switchmodule “1” and line unit “0”, the highest percent blockage for the lasteight weeks occurred on August 5th when the line units were 13% blocked.For the remote/pair gain Buies Creek 1126 the highest hourly percentageblockage for the last eight weeks for switch module “14” on line unit“1” was on August 26th when the lines were 3% blocked (1128).

An exemplary blockage report or count by week is shown in FIG. 14 andlists the number of line units in a telecommunications network blockedper week by region. This report allows a user to see what regions mayhave the highest line unit blockage and the number of line units thatmay require additional equipment in order to perform properly.

The exemplary line unit count blockage report 1400 is also a “managementreport” and indicates failures/blockages. For example, one version ofthe line unit count block report specifies the number of line unitsblocked per week by region. The system lists the region 1404, week date1406 and number of line units blocked for that week 1408. The exemplarymanagement report displays that the Mid-Atlantic Region had three lineunits blocked the week of Aug. 5, 2003. This report is easily generatedby obtaining the failure/blockage information from the relationaldatabase component 203 of FIG. 2B and displaying it in a managementreport so a manager can easily determine how many line units in eachregion are blocked and where attention needs to be focused.

An exemplary consecutive week report 1500 is shown in FIG. 15. Theexemplary consecutive week report 150 shows the region, host, hostdescription, switch, switch module and line unit that has had blockagereported within a set period of time.

The consecutive week blockage report 1500 displays line units with threeconsecutive weeks of blockage. However, one of skill in the art willrealize that a blockage report may specify blockage for any amount oftime. The blockage report 1500 lists the region 1504, switch 1506, host1508, host description 1510, switch module 1512 and line 1514 unitexhibiting blockage for three consecutive weeks. This report allows auser to determine if the same equipment has chronic problems or ifdifferent equipment is failing each week. As shown in the exemplaryblockage report 1500, there are numerous pieces of equipment that areexhibiting chronic problems every week. A user or manager can quicklyidentify what pieces of equipment need attention.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that this embodiment of thepresent invention contemplates the presence of additional componentsand/or sub-components of the computer system, and the components and/orsubcomponents may be combined with one another and/or separated into newcomponents and sub-components.

Referring next to FIG. 3B, a method for generating a line usage reportis shown. At block 310 the system receives a request for a report type.Report types include performance reports, account by week reports, andconsecutive week reports and are described in more detail below withreference to FIG. 9. With reference again to FIG. 3B, at block 312 thesystem receives report criteria. The report criteria received caninclude the region, company, state, office/host, switch module, lineunit and interval of usage information to generate a line usage reportfor. The report type and report criteria may be entered by a user or maybe obtained from another database or table. At block 314 the systemgenerates a report by searching the relational database table for lineusage information that satisfies the report criteria received. Thesystem then formats the report according to the requested report type.At block 316 the system displays the line usage report.

System and Method for Displaying Line Usage Reports

Referring next to FIG. 4, a user interface for displaying a report ofline usage information 400 is provided. At block 402 the system obtainsa user log-in name and password. At block 404 the system obtains thereport type desired. At block 406, the system obtains the reportcriteria to be used to generate the report. At block 408, the systemdisplays the report of line usage information based on the reportcriteria and report type received.

The following is an example of using method of displaying line usagereports and is illustrative rather than restrictive. At block 402, auser is prompted to enter a user login. An exemplary user login screen800 is shown in FIG. 8. A user enters his/her user name 804 and theirpassword 806. The user name and password are specific to users of thesystem and allow entry into the system. A user login screen 800 isoptional for entry into the system.

Referring again to FIG. 4, the system obtains the type of report theywant to receive for line usage information at block 404. In oneembodiment the system obtains the type of report from another system ordatabase. In another embodiment, the system receives the type of reportfrom a user. And in yet another embodiment, the system prompts the userfor a report type by providing report type choices. With reference toFIG. 9, an exemplary screen of report-type choices 900 is shown.Examples of report choices include, but are not limited to, performancereports 904, blockage reports 906, and consecutive week reports 908.

Referring again to FIG. 4, after the system obtains the report type theywant at block 404, the system obtains the report criteria to be used togenerate the line usage report at block 406. In one embodiment thesystem obtains the report criteria from another system or database. Inanother embodiment, the system receives the report criteria from a user.And in yet another embodiment, the system prompts the user for reportcriteria by providing criteria options. Referring now to FIG. 10, anexemplary screen displaying report criteria 1000 is shown. Criteria 1004that may be used to generate a line usage report include the region1006, company 1008, state 1010, office/host 1012, switch module 1014,and line unit 1016. Criteria that may be selected include the interval1018 of line usage information the user wants displayed. For example,the user may choose to view line usage information for the last fourweeks 1020, the last twelve weeks 1022, and the last twelve months 1024.

In this example, once the user has selected the criteria they would likeused to generate the line usage report, the user selects button 1026. Ifthe user wants to view or enter information regarding load balancing,the user selects the load balance notes button 1028. Selection of theload balance notes button 1028 will open load balance maintenance entryscreen as shown in FIG. 16.

Once the user has entered the selected criteria for generating a lineusage report and selects button 1026, the system displays the line unitperformance report requested and according to the specified criteria atblock 408 of FIG. 4.

The following is an example of a user interface for displaying a reportof line usage information and is illustrative rather than restrictive.In this example, a user selects a line unit performance report type 904from the report-type choice screen 900. The system then prompts the userto enter the criteria 1004 to be used to generate a line usage report.The user selects the Mid Atlantic region 1106 for company “56” 1008 andthe Dunn County Office 1012. and selects an interval of eight weeks (notshown.)

Based on this report type selected and criteria entered, the systemdisplays the Line Unit Performance Report 1100 shown in FIG. 11. Thereport is for the Mid Atlantic Region 1106, 56 Company 1108 and the DunnCounty office 1100 showing results for the last eight weeks 1112.

System and Method for Displaying Line Usage Details and Load BalanceInformation

Referring next to FIG. 5, a system for displaying line usage details andload balance information is shown. The system 500 includes a reportdisplay component 207, a load balance display component 504 and a lineunit performance details component 506.

The report display component 207 displays line usage information in aline usage report for equipment in a telecommunications network. Theline usage information includes the percent overflow, usage information,current utilization percentage, hour the highest blockage occurred,number of calls per piece of equipment, overflow information, number ofworking lines, and any other information that relates to the traffic orusage of equipment in a telecommunications network. Examples of reportdisplays are shown below in FIGS. 11 and 14-15.

The load balance display component 504 displays information regardingactivity and comments relating to balancing traffic on equipment in atelecommunications network. The load balance activity includes a startdate and complete date for any activity to balance lines or equipment ina telecommunications network. The load balance activity may also includeany actions taken and comments regarding the load balance. For example,action taken to balance the load of traffic in a telecommunicationnetwork may include adding or removing lines or switches to thetelecommunications network. Load balance activity may also includeinformation regarding planned activity to balance the traffic in atelecommunications network.

Load balance information displayed by the load balance display componentmay be edited or updated by a user. In one embodiment, the edits and/orupdates are stored so that they can be displayed to users so that theusers can view load balance activity being performed on equipment in thetelecommunications network.

The line unit performance details component 506 provides detailsregarding line unit and equipment performance in a telecommunicationnetwork. The line unit performance details component allows a user toobtain additional information regarding line usage. The detailedinformation includes traffic for a piece of equipment for every hour ofthe day and the number and type of lines loaded on each unit (e.g.residential vs. business.) The detailed information may also include thenumber of lines that are ‘wired’ in existing line unit shelves, thenumber of lines that are ‘equipped’ with line cards in the selves, andthe number of ‘working’ lines. The line unit performance detailcomponent 506 provides detailed information for one or more pieces ofequipment in a telecommunications network including the percentcapacity, number of overflow calls or calls blocked per hour, the PEGcount (e.g. the number of call attempts), CCS (e.g. centum call secondsor 100 call seconds) and average holding time per call in the hour. Thisallows a user to view detailed line usage information to help solve anytraffic problem that may exist. The user may select a link to view theline usage details or the details may be provided together with theinformation displayed by the report display component 207.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiment of thepresent invention contemplates the presence of additional componentsand/or sub-components of the computer system, and the components and/orsubcomponents may be combined with one another and/or separated into newcomponents and sub-components.

Referring next to FIG. 6, a method for displaying line unit performancedetails 600 is provided. At block 602, the system displays a generatedline usage report. At block 604, the system displays any associated loadbalance information. At block 606, the system receives a request forline unit performance details. The request is be from a user selectingor “drilling down” on information in the line usage report. At block608, the system returns and displays the line usage details requested.In one embodiment, the line unit performance details are obtained fromthe relational database component 208 of FIG. 2A.

The following is an example of a method for displaying line unitperformance details and load balance activity and is illustrative ratherthan restrictive. With reference to FIG. 6, the line usage report isdisplayed at a block 602 and associated load balance information atblock 604. With reference to FIG. 11, the line unit performance report1102 includes a line usage report and load balance activity 1130. Moredetailed information regarding load balance can be obtained by selectingand/or “drilling down” the load balance notes button 1028 in FIG. 10 orby selecting load balance activity in performance report 1102 to obtaindetailed load balance information.

FIG. 12 is an exemplary line unit load balance report 1200 displayingdetailed load balance information. The load balance report 1200 includesload balance information for switch type 5ESS (1204), the mid-AtlanticRegion (1206), the 56 Company (1208), the Buies Creek Office (1210) forswitch module 14 (1212) and line unit 1 (1214). The load balance reportincludes a start date (1216) and completion date (1218) for any loadbalance activity or comments made regarding load balance activity(1220). In this instance, switch module “14” and line unit “1” had fivelines added (1222) starting on Feb. 26, 2003 and this was completed onMar. 3, 2003. The line unit load balance report 1200 allows the user tosee a historical reference of all maintenance and equipment additionsand removals done for a particular piece of equipment in atelecommunications network.

Referring again to FIG. 6, a user requests additional line unitperformance details at block 606 and the system displays the details atblock 608. In one embodiment, the user selects or “drills down” on aparticular piece of equipment to see details regarding the line usage.For example, the user selects a particular interval for a line unit tosee details regarding line usage on a line unit at a certain time ofday. With reference to FIG. 11, a user selects the interval of August26th (1128) for the Buies Creek Remote/Pair Gain switch module “14” andline unit “1”. After receiving the request for line unit details forthis particular interval, the system displays the line unit details forthe selected interval at block 608 of FIG. 6.

An exemplary screen of line unit performance details for the selectedinterval is shown in FIG. 13. Details for the selected interval includethe hour 1304, the percentage capacity/blockage 1306, the PEG 1308, theoverflow 1310, the total PEG 1312, and holding time 1314. The highestpercentage blockage on August 26th occurred during the eighteenth hourof the day. The user would be able to deduce from this information whatequipment may be need to be added, moved or rearranged to solve thetraffic problem.

System and Method for Updating the Structure of a TelecommunicationsSystem

Referring next to FIG. 7, a system for updating changes to the structureof a telecommunications system is shown. The system includes amaintenance entry component 702 and a structural database component 704.Information regarding load balance activity such as adding lines,removing lines, adding switch modules, removing switch modules, andadding or removing any other equipment in the telecommunicationsnetwork, is entered into the maintenance entry component 702 by a user.

Once information regarding maintenance of equipment in atelecommunications system is entered into the maintenance entrycomponent 702, this information is communicated to the structuraldatabase component 704. The information regarding the structure of thetelecommunication network stored in the structural database component704 is updated based on information received from the maintenance entrycomponent 702.

In another embodiment, the addition and removal of equipment in atelecommunications system is driven by maintenance processes of thestructural database component 704. In this embodiment, the structuraldatabase component automatically recognizes when equipment has beenadded or removed from a telecommunications network.

For example, new lines have been added to a particular line unit to helpbalance the traffic load, the structural database component 704 will beupdated to reflect the new lines. The updated structural information isaccessed on a regular basis when the relational database component 208of FIG. 2A and when the relational database component 208 accesses thestructural information in the structural database component and searchesthe data collection component 202 for line usage information for theequipment in the telecommunications network.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the embodiment of thepresent invention contemplates the presence of additional componentsand/or sub-components of the computer system, and the components and/orsubcomponents may be combined with one another and/or separated into newcomponents and sub-components.

With reference to FIG. 16, the following is an exemplary load balancemaintenance entry screen 1600 and is illustrative rather thanrestrictive. The load balance remarks table 1602 includes a field forentry of the host CLLI 1604, switch module 1606, line unit 1608 andstart date of maintenance 1610. The table 1602 also includes a remarksfield 1712 and a field for entry of the completion date of maintenance1614. The user enters the information in the host CLLI field 1604,switch module field 1606 and line unit field 1608 to identify the pieceof equipment in the telecommunications network. For that piece ofequipment, the user enters maintenance remarks. For example, the userenters that one or more lines or another piece of equipment are added orremoved. The user also enters the completion date of the maintenance forthe piece of equipment.

The information input into maintenance entry screen 1600 is thencommunicated to the structural database and the database is updated toreflect this information. The information entered into the maintenanceentry screen 1600 may also be stored so that a user can obtaininformation regarding maintenance in the telecommunications network. Forexample, the structural database component may be set up to store andtrack maintenance information entered in addition to updating thestructure of the telecommunications. In another embodiment, themaintenance information entered is stored in a separate database oftable and is accessible to a user.

An example of maintenance information being accessible to a user amaintenance entry inquiry screen 1700 as shown in FIG. 17. The inquiryscreen 1700 displays records in load balance remarks table. Themaintenance information contained in these records has been entered by auser or received by another system. The records are listed by CLLI code1704, switch module 1706, line unit 1708, start date 1710, completiondate 1712, activity date 1716 and activity time 1714. A user can page upor down to scroll through the records. The records may be displayed inany order depending on specified parameters. For example, the records inthe inquiry screen 1700 are organized according to the start date ofmaintenance. In this example, the record for the CLLI positionABGNVAAMRLO for switch module “1” and line unit “1” has maintenanceactivity on Oct. 13, 2003 and the expected completion date is Oct. 18,2003. If the user selects a maintenance inquiry record from the list,the user can view more information regarding the maintenance record.

For example, if the user selects the CLLI position ABGNVAAMRLO forswitch module “1” and line unit “1”, a maintenance entry inquiry screen1800 for an individual record is provided of FIG. 18. The exemplaryrecord lists the Host CLLI 1814, switch module 1806, line unit 181 andstart date 1810. The inquiry screen 1800 displays any remarks 1812 forthe record, the completion date 1814, activity date 1816, activity time1818 and user ID 1820. Thus, a user can view the completion date orexpected completion date 1814 of the maintenance record, the date 1814and time 1818 information was entered into the record and the identifyof the user 1820 who entered the information into the maintenancerecord.

In summary, the present invention relates to numerous embodiments. Thepresent invention relates to a computerized tool and method foruniversal line management. In one embodiment of the present invention auniversal line usage information collection tool is described. Inanother embodiment, a universal line usage-reporting tool or system isdescribed.

The present invention also relates to a system and method for displayingdetailed line usage information. In another embodiment of the presentinvention, a system and method for updating equipment in atelecommunications network is provided. Another embodiment of thepresent invention relates to a user interface. In still anotherembodiment, a system and method for updating the structure of atelecommunications system is described.

Although the invention has been described with reference to thepreferred embodiment illustrated in the attached drawing figures, it isnoted that substitutions may be made and equivalents employed hereinwithout departing form the scope of the invention as recited in theclaims. For example, additional steps may be added and steps omittedwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

1. A line usage-reporting tool for generating universal line usagereports, the tool comprising: a data collection component forcontinuously receiving over a network line usage information for aplurality of line units within a telecommunications network, each of theplurality of line units coupled to and associated with a particularswitch and comprising a grouping of a plurality of lines, and each ofthe plurality of lines being coupled to customer premise equipment; astructural database component for storing in a memory structuralinformation containing a layout of each of the plurality of line unitswithin the telecommunications network; a relational database componentfor (i) receiving the line usage information from the data collectioncomponent, (ii) storing the line usage information for the plurality ofline units in the memory, (iii) periodically accessing the structuralinformation from the structural database component, and (iv) organizingthe line usage information according to the structural information intoa format such that the line usage information are used to generate lineusage reports, wherein the relational database component includesstoring the line usage information associated with a particular one ofthe line units in a memory location associated with an identifierassigned to the particular one of the line units, wherein the memorylocation is further associated with the particular switch and theplurality of lines and telephone numbers; a report information componentfor receiving a selection of report criteria and a selection of one ormore types of report to be generated; and a report generator componentfor generating one or more line usage reports for one or more of theplurality of line units based on the report criteria and type of reportreceived by the report information component using line usageinformation obtained from the relational database component; and avisual display for displaying the one or more line usage reportsgenerated by the report generator component, the one or more line usagereports including line usage information associated with one or more ofthe plurality of line units.
 2. The line usage-reporting tool of claim1, wherein the type of report is a line unit performance report.
 3. Theline usage-reporting tool of claim 2, wherein the line unit performancereport displays line usage information by switch modules and line unitsfor one or more central offices.
 4. The line usage-reporting tool ofclaim 3, wherein the line unit performance report includes informationfor each line unit comprising one or more of the highest hour percentblockage, the busy hour percent capacity, the highest busy hour usage,busiest usage values and number of working lines.
 5. The lineusage-reporting tool of claim 1, wherein the type of report is ablockage report.
 6. The line usage-reporting tool of claim 5, whereinthe blockage report displays the number of line units in atelecommunications networked blocked per period of time per region. 7.The line usage-reporting tool of claim 1, wherein the type of report isa management report.
 8. The line usage-reporting tool of claim 7,wherein the management report displays the number of line units blockedper a period of time per region.
 9. The line usage-reporting tool ofclaim 1, wherein the report criteria is one or more of region, company,state, office, switch module, line unit and time interval for which theline usage report is to be generated.
 10. A method of reportinguniversal telephone line usage information using a computer, the methodcomprising: continuously receiving line usage information for aplurality of line units within a telecommunications network, each of theplurality of line units coupled to and associated with a particularswitch and comprising a grouping of a plurality of lines, and each ofthe plurality of lines being coupled to customer premise equipment;storing structural information containing a layout of each of theplurality of line units within the telecommunications network;periodically accessing the structural information and organizing theline usage information according to the structural information into aformat such that the line usage information are used to generate lineusage reports; receiving a selection of report criteria; receiving aselection of one or more types of report to be generated; generating oneor more line usage reports for one or more of the plurality of lineunits based on the report criteria and type of report received using theline usage information; and displaying the one or more line usagereports, the one or more line usage reports including line usageinformation associated with one or more of the plurality of line units.11. The method of claim 10, wherein the type of report is a line unitperformance report.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the line unitperformance report displays line usage information by switch modules andline units for one or more central offices.
 13. The method of claim 10,wherein the type of report is a blockage report.
 14. The method of claim10, wherein the type of report is a management report.
 15. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the report criteria is one or more of region, company,state, office, switch module, line unit and time interval for which theline usage report is to be generated.
 16. The method of claim 10,wherein the stored line usage information is accessed from one or morerelational databases.
 17. A line usage-reporting tool for generating oneor more universal line usage reports, the tool comprising: a datacollection component for continuously receiving line usage informationfor a plurality of line units within a telecommunications network, eachof the plurality of line units coupled to and associated with aparticular switch and comprising a grouping of a plurality of lines, andeach of the plurality of lines being coupled to customer premiseequipment; a structural database component for storing in a memorystructural information containing a layout of each of the plurality ofline units within the telecommunications network; a data collectioncomponent for periodically receiving the structural information andorganizing the line usage information according to the structuralinformation into a format such that the line usage information are usedto generate line usage reports; a report information component forstoring a selection of report criteria in the memory; a reportinformation component generator for storing in the memory a selection ofone or more types of reports to be generated and for generating one ormore line usage reports based on the report criteria and type of reportreceived and using the access line usage information; and a visualdisplay for displaying the one or more line usage reports, the one ormore line usage reports including line usage information associated withone or more of the plurality of line units.
 18. The line usage-reportingtool of claim 17, wherein the type of report is a line unit performancereport.
 19. The line usage-reporting tool of claim 18, wherein the lineunit performance report displays line usage information by switchmodules and line units for one or more central offices.
 20. The lineusage-reporting tool of claim 19, wherein the line unit performancereport includes information for each line unit comprising one or more ofthe highest hour percent blockage, the busy hour percent capacity, thehighest busy hour usage, busiest usage values and number of workinglines.
 21. The line usage-reporting tool of claim 17, wherein the typeof report is a blockage report.
 22. The line usage-reporting tool ofclaim 21, wherein the blockage report displays the number of line unitsin a telecommunications networked blocked per period of time per region.23. The line usage-reporting tool of claim 17, wherein the type ofreport is a management report.
 24. The line usage-reporting tool ofclaim 23, wherein the management report displays the number of lineunits blocked per a period of time per region.
 25. The lineusage-reporting tool of claim 24, wherein the report criteria is one ormore of region, company, state, office, switch module, line unit andtime interval for which the line usage report is to be generated.